Love Squared
by sparklepop777
Summary: Sometimes in life, we don't know what we want. Sometimes, we know what we want, but we don't know that we know. And sometimes it takes a little detour off the road to get us back on track. Addison, Izzie, Alex, and Mark are about to figure this out.
1. The Problem

**Okay, so...starting a new story...something I probably shouldn't be doing right now. But I figure, if I'm going to get this out of my system (I've had this idea for quite some time), then I'd might as well do it, now or never.**

**So the inspiration for this fic comes from an old plotline that everyone thought Shonda was going to use in the middle of season three. Basically, it involves Addison, Alex, Izzie, and Mark. And I think you might like it. :)**

* * *

"You are a sorry man, Alex. A sorry, sorry man."

Alex's head snapped up. "Something fly up your ass today, Christina?"

"She's not trying to be rude," said Meredith.

Alex snorted. "And I'm the Queen of England."

"No, we're talking about the moping," said Meredith, sitting down next to him so her lunch tray hit the table with a little _plunk_. "The endless moping. It's not good for you."

"We've had enough moping for a lifetime," said Christina. She jerked her head at Meredith. "Especially from this one over here."

Meredith glared, but went on talking. "We're just saying, that whatever it is, just fix it. Or at least tell us what it is so we can stop wor- I mean, paying attention to it."

"I'm not moping!"

Christina ripped open a bag of chips. "Oh, so we're just supposed to assume that the permanent frown you now have is a side of your personality we haven't seen before? Give me a break."

"There's a lack of a sneer on your face," added Meredith. "That's just not natural."

"What's not natural?" George approached the lunch table, carrying his own tray of food. Alex shot him a look of disdain. "What's everyone talking about?"

"Alex. We're talking about Alex and his moping," explained Meredith.

"Did you mention the spacing?" asked George. "He spaces. A lot."

"You're right," mused Meredith. "He does."

"Go to hell," muttered Alex.

"I expect we'll be seeing you there, then?" asked Christina. She stuffed a handful of chips into her mouth. "Sickening."

"You can't blame him," said George. "I'd be pissed too if I were working with Sloan."

"I'm on Montgomery's service today," corrected Alex. 

"I knew it!" exclaimed Christina, tossing a chip up into the air in triumph. "I saw it on the board today. I just didn't believe it."

"Shut up."

"You know your true place is on the gynie squad," Christina said, waving her hand. "Just admit it."

"But he's moped way before that," Meredith pointed out. "It's got to be something different."

"Is this about Izzie?" asked George. "Because if it is, well, she's okay now and everything…but just tell us and we'll back off."

"This _is not about Izzie_!" exclaimed Alex, resulting in silence from the other three. They finished the rest of their lunch in silence…until Christina's beeper went off.

"You know what?" said Christina, checking the beeper. "If you want to mope around, that's fine with me. You go ahead and be like everyone else with their heads stuck down at the bottom of the well around here. I could care less." She got up, threw her empty wrappers down on the table, and speed-walked inside.

"Where _is_ Izzie anyway?" asked George.

"In surgery with Callie," answered Meredith. "She should be out in about an hour."

"It's not about Izzie," repeated Alex.

This got hold of George's curiosity. "There's a person then. Who's it about?"

"Whatever," muttered Alex, glancing at his watch. "I have to go. She needs me." He got up, threw his and Christina's lunches away, and left the courtyard in the same direction Christina had gone.

George and Meredith stared after him. "Since when does Alex clean up after people? Since when does Alex clean up, period?"

Meredith, however, looked thoughtful. "She needs me…do you think…that he could…?"

"What?" asked George. His eyes widened in realization. "No way."

Meredith shrugged. "It could happen." She shook her head. "I don't know. You're probably right."

"How weird would that be? If he…"

"It wouldn't be the weirdest thing that ever happened here."

"God, that's scary," said George. He looked at Meredith's half-eaten sandwich, sitting in front of her. "Are you going to finish that?"

Meredith picked up the sandwich, picked out the lettuce (George hated lettuce), and handed it over.

* * *

**Tell me what you think!**


	2. The Arrangement

**Wow, you guys totally surprised me. I got twice the reviews I usually do!!! I'm so glad you're into this! As far as shippings go (I know you're all dying to know)...it's kind of a surprise. If I tell you, I'll ruin it, but if any of you know of the storyline I'm trying to portray here, then you already know.**

**And I'm being confusing. Here's the next chapter.**

* * *

"Have you been thinking about what your specialty's going to be?" asked Callie.

Izzie looked up, surprised at the obvious question. The water running over her hands got too hot, and she snatched her hands away, quickly turning it to the cool setting. "I'm sorry?"

"I understand it's a personal decision," said Callie quickly.

"No, no, that's fine," said Izzie, turning off the water. "I just…I've thought about it of course, but…" She stopped at the look on Callie's face, understanding what Callie wanted her to do. "What made you choose your specialty? Is that what you want me to ask?"

Callie nodded "Very good. That's the question you should be asking. Because if you're not sure, learning why other people chose theirs can help you make your decision…and it is a very personal decision."

Izzie looked suspicious. Why was she telling her these things she already knew?

"Don't look at me," said Callie, holing her hands up in the air. "Just go talk to Bailey."

Well, this sounded promising. "Thanks," muttered Izzie, glancing toward the door quickly. "Why did you choose yours? Specialty, I mean."

"It was me," said Callie. "And I love it."

Izzie had a brief flashback of the day Callie let Meredith smash bones. "Um…thanks."

"Don't thank me," said Callie. "I tried to save you but…yeah."

"Could you please just tell me what's going on?"

Callie shook out her hair from its bun. "I'm not supposed to be telling…"

"Theoretically, then," said Izzie. "What's going to happen?"

"You...may or may not be assigned to Sloan for what may or may not be an indefinite amount of time."

"But…Alex…" protested Izzie.

"Yeah…about that…he...may or may not be unofficially on Dr. Montgomery's service," said Callie. "Like I said, I'm really sorry. Talk to Bailey. I have to go." She hurried out the door, shaking out her hair as she went.

Izzie reached into her pocket and pulled out a five. She needed coffee.

* * *

"Seriously?" asked Derek, as the elevator opened and the occupants flooded out onto the floor, leaving Derek and Bailey alone in the elevator. 

"You asked what I was doing, and I told you," said Bailey, crossing her arms. "They're my interns, and I can manage them fine."

"You just assigned Stevens and Karev to Mark…_Mark_," said Derek. "People are going to be betting on who kills whom."

"You weren't listening," replied Bailey. "I'll say it again. Karev seems to express an interest in neonatal care, whether or not he will admit it. So instead of having him run around and getting _two _attendings pissed off at me, I'm letting him do both. Stevens will take any extra work he's not doing because, as you know, a human can only be in one place at one time."

Derek shook his head and looked up at the ceiling. "You really think this is going to work."

"I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't."

The elevator dinged. "Okay," said Derek, "but as for who dies? My money's on Karev." He walked out. "Dr. Bailey."

"Dr. Shepherd," replied Bailey, as the doors closed. She leaned against the back wall of the elevator. "Fool."

* * *

"What the hell is this?" asked Addison, waving a piece of paper in his face. 

"And the nice, silent afternoon is over," said Mark, looking up from his coffee, then at the paper. "What the hell is that?"

"You tell me! I didn't have anything to do with this. I put Karev with you because that was what both of you wanted...apparently. And now you're going to dump him back on me? Typical..."

"I don't know what you're talking about. Speak slower. Yell less, talk more," said Mark.

"The note...didn't you get one? It was in your box..." Addison rolled her eyes. "Of course you didn't check your box. Well, it says that you and I get to juggle Stevens and Karev for an indefinite amount of time. And I know that neither of those interns are exactly jumping out of their seats trying to be on my service...which leads me to believe that you did something...so what did you do?"

"Look," said Mark, "either you're blind or you can't see that Karev's got a soft spot of your...pink and squishy...stuff. Bailey's probably making Stevens cover him...or whatever. Why is this pissing you off so much?"

"Check your box!" snapped Addison, storming away.

* * *

"WHAT?" 

Alex and Izzie stood in front of Bailey, the same expression on their faces.

"Montgomery requested me?" asked Alex. "Again?" He dropped his voice to a mutter. "She promised..."

"Meanwhile I get to work for the biggest womanizer on the planet," muttered Izzie.

"Look," said Bailey, "you work here...I work here...we all work here. And sometimes, that means that - surprisingly - you have to do some things you don't want to do sometimes. Some things that might actually end up benefiting you in the future. Things that people like me, who know more than you, do for you because you can't cross the street by yourselves yet. So act like professionals - I know somewhere in those thick heads of yours you remember how to do that - and just report to your assignments tomorrow morning."

"Yes, Dr. Bailey," Izzie and Alex chorused. Bailey, satisfied for the moment, turned around and left.

"This is all your fault," said Izzie. "If you could just make up your mind, we wouldn't be in this situation."

"And what about you?" asked Alex. "If I remember right, I was brought in after you left."

"...because you pissed her off so much she had to punish you!"

"Whatever," said Alex. He glanced at the clock on the wall. "We're officially off shift in ten minutes."

"Ten minutes closer to the bundle of joy work will be tomorrow," said Izzie. "I'm still blaming this on you."

"Oh, boohoo," said Alex. "I'm sobbing."

* * *

"So wait," said Christina. "You're with...and he's with...and both of you are...with them?" She leaned her head back and laughed. 

"If being a surgeon doesn't work out for you, get a job at Disney doing all the villains," said Izzie. "You'd get paid well."

"Fairy tales suck," said Christina. "All they do is set up little kids for disappointment."

"That's brutal," said George. "Next round's on me."

"I don't want your pity beer," snapped Alex.

"I'd drink up if I were you," said Meredith. "It'll make you feel better."

"Cake'll make me feel better," said Izzie. "I'm thinking cupcakes. Meredith, do you remember if we still have butter left?"

"You both did something," said Christina. "It's as easy as that. You did something very bad, and now karma's coming back to bite you in the ass."

"Please," said Alex. "The only reason why we're playing musical chairs with the attendings is because you two have the other two booked."

"What," said Christina, "you want to sleep with Burke?"

"I'm going to take that pity beer," muttered Izzie to George.

* * *

**I promise all the action will start in the next one. Thanks for reading!**


	3. The Complication

**Aw, I'm so sorry guys! School's been crazy. I know I haven't been updating, but I have a few days off, so I'm going to try to crank these out. Enjoy!**

* * *

"You look happy today," said Meredith. "What surgery did you steal?" 

"Today's the day Alex and Izzie start their service of hell," said Christina gleefully. "Don't get me wrong. I'm not the kind of person who takes pleasure in others' pain..."

"Yes, you are," said Meredith.

"Okay. Sometimes I do. But this is good for both of us. With all the plastics and gynie surgeries covered, the cardio and neuro is all ours."

Meredith shook her head and laughed.

"See? You're lucky I'm your person. You'll go places with me."

"Be quiet, they're coming." Meredith turned around quickly to greet Izzie and Alex.

"Save it," said Alex. "I'm pissed off already."

"Remember," said Meredith, "it's only eighteen hours."

"Starting now," said Bailey. The four interns whirled around. "Where is O'Malley?"

"Right here!" exclaimed George, panting. "I'm...here..." He collapsed against the nurses' station.

"Good," said Bailey. "Get to work. I've got enough paperwork without having to compensate for your stupidity."

* * *

Derek entered the elevator, pushed the button for floor three, and made his way to the back of the elevator. "So, how's the new arrangement? It starts today, right?" 

Addison turned to him, scowling. "Don't even joke about it, Derek."

"Who's joking? I'm not joking. I just asked how it was going."

"Cut the crap, Derek," said Mark. "I've got Stevens today, which means that I'm going to have to say everything twice."

"They do nothing but make you work more," said Addison. "Which makes you twice as tired at the end of the day." She looked to the side. "And twice as likely to eat the cookie dough in the refrigerator at home. I mean, is this job supposed to this stressful?"

"We were better interns than this," said Mark, decidedly.

"That's what everyone says," said Derek.

"You're taking pleasure in this, aren't you?" asked Addison.

"What can I say?" said Derek. "Karma's kind of awesome sometimes."

"Go to hell."

"So I can spend all my time with Satan," said Derek. "Oh yeah, that's smart."

"What?" asked Mark.

"Long story," said Addison.

"Appropriate for the longest elevator ride ever," said Mark. "What the hell is wrong with this thing?"

"It's the Seattle Grace curse," said Derek, as the doors (mercifully) dinged and he stepped out into the hallway. "Mark, Satan." The doors closed, and Addison and Mark were left in the elevator by themselves.

"For the record," said Addison, "I'm still blaming all of this on you. Everything bad that happens to me is now your fault."

"Likewise, Satan," said Mark, rolling his eyes as the doors opened and they went in opposite directions.

* * *

"Karev," said Addison. "Let's go." 

Alex didn't say anything, just followed Addison, pointedly ignoring Cristina, who was making making various "sucks to be you" faces behind him.

"Take the chart," she said tiredly, handing it to him. "Page me in an hour."

Alex took the chart and nodded. Addison started to walk away, wondering how it was humanly possible to feel this tired after only being up for three hours.

Well, this was just too sad. "Dr. Montgomery?"

"What, Karev?"

"I'm sorry you're stuck with me."

Addison turned around, took a deep breath, and closed her eyes. "Thank you, Karev."

* * *

"Do you know how I feel about interns?" Mark asked Izzie. Izzie didn't answer, just concentrated on walking up the staircase they were sharing (and feeling strangely cramped). "I'll tell you how I feel about interns. I don't like them. They're young, inexperienced, arrogant..." 

_Arrogant? Seriously? _Izzie bit her tongue to keep herself from showing any reaction.

"...but I must say that if I had to get assigned to any intern, I'm glad it's you. At least I'll have something interesting to look at." More silence. "What, do you not talk or something? I know you interns do all the time. The nurses on my surgeries talk about you all the time."

_You'd know, wouldn't you? What are you, on your second cycle through all of them?_ "Just following the golden rule, Dr. Sloan."

"So, by not talking, you're treating others the way you'd want to be treated?

"I don't have anything nice to say, so I'm not going to say anything at all."

Mark looked at her carefully. "Stay like that, and I think you're going to be alright."

Izzie was caught off guard. "Really?"

"Yeah, sure. Go get me something to drink. You know Karev, right? So you know what I like." Mark handed a five to her with a cocky grin. "Keep the change, doll."

"It's Doctor."

"Doctor Doll, then," said Mark. "Hurry up and I'll consider letting you in on the surgery." Furious, Izzie turned back around and went down the two flights of stairs she'd just climbed up.

* * *

"I just don't get it," said Addison to Callie. Both girls happened to be grabbing a cup of coffee in the break room at the same time. "This is why I stopped working with him. He's just so..."

"Complicated?" asked Callie.

"Yeah. And then...he's a total ass. You know he's an ass. I know he's an ass. And then he has these random moments when he's...not an ass. What am I supposed to do with that? I just got divorced. My heart is fragile, Callie! Fragile. The last thing I need is for some intern to be toying around with it the way he does...in that cute, schoolboy...type of way."

"Addison..."

"Miranda was right. I can't control myself! And now I'm pouring out my troubles to you like you're some kind of...I'm sorry."

"Addison, I'm your friend. This is what friends do. They give you an outlet." Callie came over to Addison and put her hands on her shoulders. "Honey, you need an outlet. Outlets are what keep you from doing stuff that you don't want to do. The next time you want to act on your passions..."

"...they're not passions."

"I'm not judging. You have a little thing for Alex. It's okay. This happens sometimes."

"Not to me."

"I'm sorry to tell you, but you're not immune to the fallbacks of being a human. Now, the next time you feel like...whatever...come and talk to me. That's what I'm here for. And I cost a hell of a lot less than a shrink."

"Thanks." At that moment, Izzie entered the bathroom.

"Oh, hi, " Izzie told them.

Callie and Addison had a brief exchange of "No, you ask her" glances. Addison won. "So, how's your day?" Callie asked her. "With...you know, Sloan."

"I'm actually considering flushing my head down a toilet," said Izzie. "But I realized that I'd need someone to flush because my arms don't bend the right way." She entered a stall.

"I think that this arrangement has managed to make everyone equally miserable," said Callie. Next to her, Addison let out a sound of exasperation.

"Stevens," Addison called.

"Yeah?" It was awkward, talking to your superiors in the bathroom, Izzie realized. The bathroom somehow made everything equal.

"If you...play up the pretty factor, he'll be nicer to you."

Izzie opened the stall door and walked over the sinks, where Callie and Addison were standing. "What?" Next to her, Callie was staring at Addison like she'd grown an extra head.

"Play up the pretty factor. Not too much, though. Just enough to even the score. I did it all the time when we were interns...got him to give me surgeries all the time."

"Okay..." said Izzie warily, shutting off the faucet. "Thanks."

"This conversation never happened," Addison warned her, as Izzie grabbed the door to the bathroom and opened it.

Izzie nodded. "Good luck with Alex," she said. And she was gone.

"What the hell was that?" Callie asked Addison.

"I may have just forged an alliance," said Addison. Callie laughed. "Hey, don't blame me. I'm the one with the intern playing mind games with me."

"Trust me," said Callie, still laughing, "if you were in my situation, you'd be laughing too."

* * *

**Please review. Thanks for reading!**


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